Merrill Lynch Looks to Buy
Market-Maker Herzog Heine

Merrill Lynch is set to reaffirm emphatically its faith in the traditional stock-trading business.

The nation's largest brokerage firm is in advanced talks to buy Herzog Heine Geduld, one of the Nasdaq Stock Market's largest market makers, people familiar with the matter say. Details remain to be finalized, but a deal valued at between $800 million and $900 million could be announced as early as Tuesday, the people say.